10 WWE Evolution Impulse Reactions
Women's Wrestling Entertainment.
Evolution was the best WWE pay-per-view of the year.
If that feels familiar, it's because it opened up this very piece for Hell In A Cell last month. In spite of unthinkable factors that have impacted the company over the past few months, the post-SummerSlam spell has resulted in something of a hot streak creatively - or at least whatever masquerades as one in 2018 anyway.
In fact, the only thing that stood in the way of Evolution reaching rarified air as a perfect pay-per-view was every mention of the next one.
The chorus of boos that enveloped the Crown Jewel graphic during the broadcast were telling not just of the wider audience's attitude towards the event but the general emotion of this particular Nassau Coliseum crowd - they were willing to buy into company propaganda but only for forces of good rather than evil.
And this show was a force of good.
Historic performers over-delivered on basement expectations. Wrestlers only known for their Network presence fought and won as supershow superstars. The main eventers wrestled f*cking honest-to-goodness main events, not pretend positions pontificated on for patronising plaudits.
Yes, Evolution was the best WWE pay-per-view of the year. But then one only had to listen to any promo during the night to realise why. It had to be...
10. Darkness Falls
Rhea Ripley and Dakota Kai. #WWEEvolution pic.twitter.com/9MbeLMg5nF
— D-O-R-Y (@CaribbeanLovely) October 28, 2018
But first a quick note on the one number fudged by WWE in the build-up and execution of this show.
There'll be no analysis at time of writing of the Rhea Ripley/Dakota Kai NXT UK Women's Championship match because;
a) It was a dark match deemed unworthy of a spot on the one-hour kickoff. But then that's probably because;
b) WWE haven't actually got an NXT UK Women's Championship.
In a rare case of the organisation failing to prepare and preparing to fail, the stuttering debut of the British offshoot has resulted in taped tournament matches not even making air in time for the pay-per-view designed to celebrate the winner.
At the risk of not spoiling the entire surprise for those that actually watch week to week, let's just say one of the two women in this match took home the title, at least justifying a place on this card with a top challenger from the field. Both Ripley and Kai can feel hard done to for not getting the spots initially promoted for this show, but here's hoping a show that mirrored NXT TakeOvers past allows for - like those did - a spot on the weekly broadcast for this match to find an audience beyond the Uniondale locals.